Firefighters and hospital staff evacuated part of the Hardy View Lodge after extreme heat tripped a fire sprinkler at the residential care facility late Sunday afternoon, June 27.
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Thirteen residents were safely relocated either to family homes or to rooms in neighbouring Boundary Hospital, an Interior Health (IH) Authority spokesperson told The Gazette Sunday evening. No residents or staff were hurt, according to IH and Grand Forks Fire/Rescue.
Fire Chief George Seigler said the sprinkler went off at Hardy View’s J. Annesely Manor when an attic overheated, triggering the building’s fire suppression system at around 3:30 p.m. The sprinkler dumped around 2.25 centimetres (one inch) of water on the floor before it was shut off around 40 minutes later, he continued.
IH hasn’t confirmed the extent of the damage, saying only that the sprinkler went off in a dining room.
It was 41 C in Grand Forks as of 4:15 p.m. Sunday. Environment Canada has since forecasted temperatures in the mid-40s C starting Tuesday, June 29.
Around five volunteer firefighters attended Sunday’s scene, including Chief Seigler.
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